Nearly 8 of 10 Pinoys fear being victims of EJK —SWS

Nearly eight out of every 10 Filipinos are worried that they or anyone they know will be a victim of extrajudicial killings or EJK, according to the Fourth Quarter 2018 Social Weather Survey.

They survey also found that 50 percent believe that only the poor are victimized by EJK.

The results came in the heels of President Rodrigo Duterte pronouncement that his administration would be relentless in its war against illegal drugs, which has claimed a total of 5,176 lives from the time he assumed office on July 1, 2016 to January 31, 2019, the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) said.

Duterte promised to put a stop to illegal drugs in six months since he was elected, but admitted afterwards that he needs more time to stamp out the menace.

The SWS survey was conducted from December 16-19, 2018 using
face-to-face interviews of 1,440 adults (18 years old and above) nationwide: 360 each in Balance Luzon, Metro Manila, the Visayas, and Mindanao.  It had a sampling error margins of ±2.6% for national percentages, and ±5% each for Balance Luzon, Metro Manila, the Visayas and Mindanao.

To the survey question, "Gaano po kayo nangangamba na kayo o sino mang kilala ninyo ay maging biktima ng ‘extrajudicial killing’ o EJK? [How worried are you that you or anyone you know will be a victim of 'extrajudicial killing’ or EJK?]," 78 percent declared they are worried (42 percent very worried and 36 percent somewhat worried), and 22 percent are not worried (9 percent not too worried and 13 percent not worried at all).

In the June 2017 survey, 73 percent said they are worried, while 27 percent said they are not.

In the December 2018 survey, worry about becoming victims of EJK was highest in the Visayas at 83 percent; followed by Metro Manila at 79 percent;  Mindanao at 78 percent; and, Balance Luzon at 75 percent. 

The SWS survey also found that 50 percent believe that only the poor are victimized by EJK; three percent said only the rich; and, 48 percent said the problem does not choose a class.

When asked if they know someone who has been a victim of EJK, 12 percent said they personally know a victim, while 87 percent said they don't know one.

Despite this, 71 percent said the administration is serious in solving the EJK problem, while 11 percent said that it was not serious.  The remaining 17 percent were undecided. —LDF, GMA News